James glanced at the basement door, pressing his lips together to stop himself from swearing. Because, shit, he’d been an idiot. He wanted to punch himself for putting Harper in that position. And Alice, too. He should have known something like this would happen. Just when it felt like his life was back on an even footing something came along to sabotage it.
No, not something. Someone. In this case, himself. Why the hell hadn’t he spoken to Alice or her parents about Harper and the baby before now?
Because you didn’t want to upset them. Or for them to think you were moving on too quickly.
Yeah, well that ship had well and truly sailed. There was nothing for it. He needed to speak to Alice and her parents now. And then somehow make it up to Harper. He shook his head at the memory of her face when she realized Alice didn’t even know who she was.
What kind of man did that make him?
“I need to explain something to you,” James said to Alice in a low voice as they walked along the hallway. “And then I need you to help me tell your parents without upsetting them any more.”
“Explain what?” Alice asked him. “Is it about your friend?”
“Harper? Yeah.” He nodded. His stomach still felt twisted, as though a pair of invisible hands were wringing it tightly. “But she’s not just my friend. She’s more than that.”
“You’re in a relationship?”
“We are.” God, he wished he could define it more than that. But that’s what not wanting to open yourself up got you. A mess of a life that you couldn’t figure out how to fix.
“And the baby?”
“It’s mine.”
“Oh god, James.” Alice let out a ragged sigh. “I didn’t expect…”
“Of course you didn’t. And I’m sorry I have to tell you like this. I should have warned you if nothing more.”
“How far along is she?”
“Seven months.”
“And you didn’t think to tell us? To warn us? Were you going to have the baby and keep it a secret?” He watched as her expression changed, her eyes blinking too fast, her bottom lip trembling. “I don’t understand.”
“I was planning on telling you. Just not today when everything was so heightened. I know you wanted today to be about Sara and Jacob.”
“When then?” She shook her head. “When were you going to tell us? It’s not as if it’s a new thing. She’s seven months pregnant. In two months you’re going to have a child, James, and you’ve hidden it from us. What did you think we were going to do?”
“I don’t know. I don’t…” He rubbed his jaw with the heel of his hand. “I didn’t want you to find out like this. I know it must be a shock, with everything that happened with Sara and Jacob.”
“It’s a shock because you lied to us. Didn’t you think we might bump into her while we were here? Or that I might see something on social media? When were you planning to tell us? When the baby started Kindergarten?” Her eyes flashed. “Or were you not going to say anything at all?”
“Alice? Do you have the soap, sweetheart?” her mom called out from the bathroom, her voice as thin as paper.
“I’m coming, Mom.” Alice met James’s gaze, her eyes full of anger. “I think we should leave,” she told him. “I can’t go out to eat and pretend everything’s okay. I’ll see if we can catch an earlier flight home.”
“You don’t need to do that.”
“Actually, I think we do.”
Behind him, he heard a click. He frowned, whipping around to see the blurred image of Harper through the glass front door. Where was she going? He looked at Alice. “I need to go speak to her.”
“Alice?” her mom called again. “What’s happening?”
“Nothing, Mom.” Alice glared at him again. “I’ll be right in.” She lowered her voice as she spoke to James. “You go do what you need to do, and then you can come back and explain.”
He was already halfway down the hall. His pulse sped as he reached for the front door, yanking it open and running onto the porch. Harper was climbing into her car, and he called out to her. “Wait up!”
It was as though he hadn’t said anything. She climbed into the car and pulled the door shut behind her. He reached the bottom of the stairs and ran across the blacktop. “Harper, stop.”